Major changes looming after Canucks swept out of playoffs

Vancouver Canucks goalie Cory Schneider (35) is beaten for a goal on a shot from San Jose Sharks center Joe Pavelski, top left, during the third period of Game 4 of their first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series in San Jose, Calif., Tuesday, May 7, 2013. San Jose won 4-3 in overtime. (AP / Marcio Jose Sanchez)

VANCOUVER -- Vancouver Canucks management went into silence mode Wednesday in the aftermath of the club's first-round playoff exit at the hands of the San Jose Sharks.

But major changes loom after the Canucks, who came within a game of winning the Stanley Cup in 2010-11, bowed out early for the second consecutive spring.

The Canucks announced early in the afternoon they will hold a media availability Thursday. In the morning, the team's recorded phone message said it could be "a few days" before one was held in wake of Tuesday's 3-2 overtime loss in San Jose, which gave the Sharks a 4-0 sweep of their best-of-seven series Western Conference quarter-final series.

Management is trying to figure out what went wrong in the playoffs for a team that viewed itself as a strong Stanley Cup contender but fell well short of its target.

General manager Mike Gillis decided not to make any major moves following last year's five-game loss to the Los Angeles Kings. Gillis thought the club was close to returning to the Stanley Cup final, but the humiliating sweep by the Sharks likely means that, as players have acknowledged, the so-called Stanley Cup window of opportunity is closing quickly and bold moves are inevitable.

The Canucks have lost 10 of their last 11 playoff games dating to the 2010-11 finals.

"It's frustrating," goaltender Cory Schneider told reporters in San Jose following Tuesday's loss. "This seems like a lost year. You don't get that many opportunities to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs and to miss one or two, it's pretty frustrating."

There is no guarantee Gillis will get the chance to do a redesign. His future and those of coach Alain Vigneault, Vancouver's veteran core and, as usual, goaltender Roberto Luongo, are all in question as the Canucks hope to avoid a freefall with NHL realignment, tougher divisional opponents, and a reduced salary cap looming.

Vigneault, the club's franchise leader in wins, appears to be the most likely scapegoat. The Canucks were not able to counteract San Jose's potent power play in the playoffs, and he failed at the seemingly impossible task of getting secondary offensive players, who were inconsistent at best in the regular season, to start generating goals at the most pressure-packed time of the year.

San Jose outscored Vancouver 15-8 in the series, and the Sharks converted on seven of 24 power plays while the Canucks only produced two power-play goals on 10 opportunities.

The lack of offence has coincided with the team's inability to develop new scoring talent in an era when young stars are emerging throughout the NHL. In five seasons at the helm, only one Gillis draft pick -- Cody Hodgson, since traded -- has become an NHL regular.

Jordan Schroeder, Vancouver's first choice (22nd overall in 2009), split this season between the NHL and the minors after spending his first two pro campaigns exclusively in the AHL. But he was not used in the playoffs, and has yet to prove that he can become a Vancouver regular let alone a top producer.

Zack Kassian, the player acquired from Buffalo for Hodgson, has struggled to live up to his billing as a prototypical power forward who can score.

The Canucks must ensure that more of their draft picks figure prominently. The NHL salary cap drops to $64.3 million next season, and chances to sign a high-end free agent will become more difficult.

One way to enable more home-grown prospects to reach the NHL is to stockpile draft choices through trades, and the Canucks have a number of veteran assets that could attract a decent price on the market. Vancouver showed a need for more size and grit, as well as offensive skill, among its top-nine forwards after losing many one-on-one battles, allowing the Sharks to move the puck out of their end with relative ease.

Except for Daniel and Henrik Sedin and Alex Burrows, no forward appears likely to be spared consideration for a new hockey home. But the Sedins' future with the team will also be in question, because they are slated to enter the final year of their contracts in 2013-14.

With the Canucks at the top of the old salary cap and a new one pending, changes also appear inevitable for financial reasons. Luongo, slated to represent a $5.3-million salary cap hit next season, is an obvious candidate to leave, via trade or buyout -- a year later than planned. But the Canucks could also consider moving one of their top-four defencemen, who will all earn $4 million to $5 million next season.

Defenceman Keith Ballard, who also earns more than $4 million but has been rendered a spare part, appears to be a buyout candidate, along with enigmatic winger David Booth, who has done little in two seasons in Vancouver while battling injuries.

But before commencing with changes, management and players will have to get over the sting of being swept for the first time in 12 years.

"This is the most frustrating team I've been a part of," said Daniel Sedin. "We have a good team and what cost us? Little mistakes, taking penalties. We have ourselves to blame."

His controversial boarding penalty on Tommy Wingels in overtime led to Patrick Marleau's winning goal in Game 4.

"This year, this is not the way we wanted to end," said Henrik Sedin. "It was almost like we were a first-time playoff team going to the box too many times."

The Canucks captain lamented another lost opportunity to win a Stanley Cup, realizing that the club's core is nearing the end of its days together.

"A lot of guys have been together for a long time," he said. "It's very disappointing, because you only have so many chances."